Mattress.



0. 3.. HUNT.

MATTRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14, I915.

Patented May 29,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

0. 2. Hum.

MATTRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14. 1915.

Patented May 29, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 0. R. HUNT.

MATTRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 14. 1915.

Patented May 29, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OZELLO R. HUNT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO JOHN IE. GAIL, OF KENOSHA, WISCONSIN.

MATTRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917.

Application filed July 14, 1915. Serial No. 39,765.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OZELLO R. HUNT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chioa-go, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mattresses, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mattresses. My object is to provide a form of mattress in which the advantages inherent in sectional mattresses may be combined with the advantages inherent in the one-piece type of mattress. This object I accomplish by providing a mattress formed of a plurality of independent sections, each of which may be flufled and otherwise manipulated in a manner well known in the art to prolong its life and buoyancy, and by providing means by which the several sections are bound together into a single unitary structure which may be handled in the same manner as the ordinary one-piece mattress.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a mattress structure having certain other advantageous features of construction, as will more fully appear from the follow ing detailed description of a specific embodiment of my invention. In this description reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a perspective view of one form of mattress constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view through a portion of the mattress shown in Fig. 1 and taken on the line 2 of that figure. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the upper and lower bands which secure together the sections of my mattress, showing the manner in which these bands are fastened between the mattress sections; Figs. 4 and 4 are perspective views of a portion of one band, and showing modifications of the securing means; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a second form of mattress embodying my invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the mattress I have here illustrated is made up of a pair of end sections 10 of generally rectangular form and three intermediate sections 11, which are preferably of the same form and size and lie between the end sections, the end and intermediate sections together constituting a standard-size mattress when assembled side by side inthe manner shown in Fig. 1.

For the purpose of securing the sections 10, 11 I provide a plurality of straps or bands 12 which extend continuously from end to end of the mattress and transversely of the individual sections thereof, the bands being arranged in pairs, one band of each pair lying on the upper face of the mattress and the other band of the pair lying parallel to and beneath the first-named band on the lower face of the mattress, as best shown in the sectional view, Fig. 2. At the outer edges of the end sections 10 the ends of the bands are secured as by stitches 13 (see Fig. 2). At a point opposite each of the joints between the mattress sections the bands are looped and stitched as at 14 to form inwardly extending tongues 15 (see Fig. 3) which are adapted to enter between the meeting edges of the mattress sections, as shown in Fig. 2. The tongues 15 are adapted to be secured to one another as by snap fasteners or buttons 16, of which I prefer to provide a series lengthwise of one of the tongues, as shown in Fig. '3, in which three male snap button. elements are shown, any one of which may be engaged with the female snap button element of the other tongue. By this arrangement and by reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the tightness of the bands 12 may be adjusted as the need may arise. In Fig. 4 I have shown an alternative method of constructing the tongues 15. According to this construction the projecting portion of the tongue, here designated 15, is formed of elastic fabric such as rubber fabric, which may be stitched between the ends 17 of the sections of the strap 12, which in this instance is formed of a plurality of separate sections instead of being continuous, as illustrated in Fig. 3. It should be noted, however, that in the construction shown in Fig. 4, also, the stitching 14 is made use of. One or both of the opposite tongues 15 may be constructed of elastic fabric, as illustrated in Fig. 4:, and when this elastic fabric is used it will be unnecessary to provide for the wide range of adjustment of the tongues accomplished by the three snap buttons shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4 I have shown a further modification of the manner of forming and securing the tongues. In this form of construction,

the band 12 is continuous and the tongue is formed of a separate strip 15 which is stitched to the band.

For the purpose of more securely maintaining the bands 12 in their proper positions and also with a View to obtaining in some measure the advantages of the tufted mattress formation. I may join the upper and lower bands of each pair intermediate the breadth of the mattress sections, as by cords 18 (see Fig. 2), which may be drawn up with suflicient tightness to slightly compress the filling in the mattress and produce the tufted appearance shown in Fig. 1. To further improve the appearance of the completed mattress and also to more firmly bind the individual sections together, I may provide a binding strip or boxing 19, WhlCh may pass completely around the four marginal edges of the mattress. This strip or binding may be secured by the stitchlng 13, shown in Fig. 2, in such a manner as to form the rolled or beaded effect shown at 20 and known to the trade as an imperial edge. The outer corners of the end sections 10 may also be stitched to provide a similar bead or roll, as indicated at 21.

A mattress structure constructed as described above possesses .many advantages hitherto unattainable in this art. By means of the pairs of bands 12 the individual sections of the mattress are so firmly secured to one another that the mattress may be rolled, folded, lifted and otherwise handled in exactly the same manner as may the ordinary form of one-piece mattress. At the same time it is possible to manipulate the individual sections with the greatest free dom by merely inserting the hands between their meeting edges. By this method of assembly each individual section is accessible on every side for punching, smoothing and flufling up. Ordinarily it will not be necessary to unfasten the tongues 15 for this purpose, but should it be desired to work the mattress filling with complete freedom it isonly necessary to loosen the snap fasteners 16 of the various bands, which may be accomplished with the greatest facility..

Where, as shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of snap buttons are employed on each pair of tongues, it is possible to adjust the tension of the bands in an obvious manner to take up for any slight compression of the mat- .be interchanged at will.

of my invention in which the individual mattress sections are completely independent, so that the intermediate sections may The modification required in the preferred construction illustrated by Fig. l is merely the omission of the binding strip or boxing 19 and of the tufting cords 18. The securing bands 12 are arranged and fastened in preclsely the same fashion in this form of the invention, the sole difference being that the omission of the boxing makes it desirable to provide additional bands 12 adjacent the laterahedges of the mattress, in order to more firmly bind the ends of the mattress sections. As will readily be understood, it is possible in the form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 to relieve the tension of the bands by unfastening the tongues 15 and then to slip any of the intermediate mattress sections out endwise and interchange it with any other intermediate section, as is sometimes desirable. The tension of the bands when the tongues are connected is ample to maintain the parts in their proper assembled relation and prevent accidental displacement of the mattress sections. In thisv form of the invention I prefer to provide the imperial edges 20 and 21 on all'of the edges of each sect on.

From the foregoing it will be understood that I have succeeded in providing a sectional mattress in which each of the sections may be readily gotten at from every face for the purpose of manipulating the filling, to permit cleaning and the like, but in which the parts are so held together that the assembled mattress is in effect a one-piece mattress and capable of being handled as such without falling to pieces or gaping at the joints. It will further be noted that in the preferred formof my invention the finished mattress appears on casual inspection to be a one-piece structure, due to the boxing and to the manner in which the individual sections are firmly held in contact along their meeting edges. In the modified form of my invention it is shown that without sacrificing the primary advantages of my invention the individual mattress sections may be made removable and interchangeable.

While I have herein described the preferred construction of mattress embodying my invention and one modification of this construction, it is to be understood that I do not consider my invention as limited to lowin claims, in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as is possible in view of the prior art.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a pair of relatively narrow opposite bands passing transversely of the upper and lower faces of the sections respectively, and means lying between the meeting edges of the sections for securing the upper band to the lower band.

2. A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a pair of relatively narrow bands passing transversely across the sections and lying opposite one another on the upper and lower faces thereof respectively, and means lying between the meeting edges of the sections for detachably securing the upper and lower bands to one another.

3. A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a pair of opposite bands passing transversely across the upper and lower faces respectively of the said sections, and means lying between the meeting edges of the sections for securing the upper to the lower band, said means being adjustable, whereby the tension of the bands may be varied.

4. A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a pair of relatively narrow opposite bands passing transversely over the upper and lower faces of the said sections, tongues secured to said bands and extending inwardly toward one another between the meeting edges of the said sections, and means for attaching said tongues to one another.

5. A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a pair of opposite bands lying transversely of the upper and lower faces of the sections respectively, opposite tongues carried by said bands respectively and extending inwardly between the meetlng edges of the sections, and means for adjustably securing said tongues to one another.

6. A mattress comprisin a plurality of sections arranged side by si e, a pair of relatively narrow opposite bands lying transversely of the upper and lower faces of the sections respectively, inwardly extending tongues carried by said bands and lying between the meeting edges ofthe sections, and

means for detachably securing said tongues to one another.

7 A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a plurality of pairs of spaced parallel bands, arranged transversely of the said sections, the members of each pair lying on the upper and lower faces of the said sections respectively, and means for detachably securing the members of each pair, said means lying, between the meeting edges of the sections.

8. A mattress comprising end sections and intermediate sections arranged side by side, a pair of opposite bands lying transversely of the upper and lower faces of the said sections, means for securing said bands to the said end sections, and means lying between the meeting edges of the said sections for connecting the upper and lower bands.

9. A mattress comprising end sections and intermediate sections, a pair of relatively narrow bands extending transversely of the said sections and lying o posite one another on the upper and lower aces respectively of the said sections, means for securing said.

bands to said end sections, and inwardly extending tongues carried by said bands and connected to one another between the meeting edges of said section.

10. A mattress comprising end sections and a plurality of intermediate sections arranged side by side, a plurality of pairs of spaced parallel bands extending transversely of the said sections, the members of each pair lying opposite one another and on the upper and lower faces of the said sections respectively, means for securing said bands to said end sections, and inwardly extending tongues carried by said bands and passing between said sections, said tongues being adapted for connection with similar tongues carried by the bands on the opposite face of the said mattress.

11. A mattress comprising a plurality of sections arranged side by side, a pair of relatively narrow opposite bands lylng transversely of the said sections and on the upper and lower faces thereof, means lying between the meeting edges of the said sections for securing the upper to the lower band, and a boxing strip encircling the outer edge of the said mattress and secured thereto.

' QZELLO R. HUNT.

In presence of E. D. STEELE, L. HEISLAR. 

